Friday, June 30, 2006

Piece of my past circa 1976

While at Mom's today, I saw this photo on her desk and scanned it. That's me in the middle, about 3 years old (check out my groovy pants!). My brother is the cute blond kid in the foreground. I am sitting between my father's parents.

They lived in a farm house just outside Western Hills, a suburb of Cincinnati. My grandpa was a farmer from a long line of farmers, and my grandma was from "better" family. She defied her mother and married my grandpa against her family's wishes. She was 25 and he was 24 when they were married, which at the time (1925) was pretty old to get hitched. They had five children (my Dad was the middle child) and eventually racked up thirteen grandchildren.

Grandpa died in 1981, and the things I remember about him is mint-flavored Chapstick in his front pocket and the barn swallows in "his" barn.

Grandma died in 1994 and she taught me loads of stuff about cooking (like how to make the perfect apple pie and the best homemade chicken noodle soup, from SCRATCH) and how to crochet. She was the quintessential American Grandma. They were already "old" when I was born in 1973, but the memories I hold that have their base in my grandparents has shaped me into the person I am today. And that carries over into the relationship with my Dad. He was so like his father, quiet, gentle as long as you were good (but scary as the dickens when you were disobedient), "uneducated" but smart as Hell, hardworking and just GOOD PEOPLE.

But I did love reading about your Dad's family...I believe I met them several times when your parents were first married and even went to their house once. For those of us living on the east side, it was like going to the MOON!

Click on this link when you are having a bad day and need a giggle

A Glossary for newcomers to the blog:

"Embrace your Inner Sheep": You'll just have to read back a ways for the explanation of that one.

FTS (Also known as F*** the Swainsons): When you just cannot, under any circumstances, get out and look at another bird today. That's it. I don't care what it is. F*** the Swainsons!

The Flock: A group of women (and a few men thrown in for good measure) who met here in Cyberspace and now travel together to birding festivals. We are unique in this because birders don't usually travel in "packs".

Learning Lemur: (See Science Chimp)

RAPTOR: A Cincinnati-based rehab center for birds of prey (also where I work)

Science Chimp: A term coined by Julie Zickefoose. Meaning anyone who sees something nature-oriented (whether it be scat or bones or the scene of a predator strike) and MUST figure out the circumstances. There is much grunting and "eep-eep-eeping" involved in a full-on Science Chimp display. Someone who is learning the art of Chimping can be called a "Learning Lemur".

"Squeee!": This is a noise you make when something is so cute or perfect, no other word will do.

"What? Lynne has herpes?": What your blogger heard and said during a quiet moment at an owl prowl when someone said that Lynne (Hasty Brook) has groupies.